COVID-19 Response
Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic
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We urgently need your help to provide lifesaving supplies and support to vulnerable communities in Myanmar and Bangladesh, including Rohingya refugees.
With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic unfolding around the world, Community Partners International (CPI) mobilized immediately to support Myanmar's most vulnerable people, including Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh.
Community Partners International is working around the clock to help our community-based health partners respond to COVID-19. As well as preparedness training, we are providing essential medical supplies and helping with messaging and health information to keep vulnerable families and communities safe and healthy.
We are helping to coordinate between government and community-based health providers to promote a unified response and facilitate the safe and rapid referral of suspected COVID-19 cases for testing and care.
With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic unfolding around the world, Community Partners International (CPI) mobilized immediately to support Myanmar's most vulnerable people, including Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh.
Community Partners International is working around the clock to help our community-based health partners respond to COVID-19. As well as preparedness training, we are providing essential medical supplies and helping with messaging and health information to keep vulnerable families and communities safe and healthy.
We are helping to coordinate between government and community-based health providers to promote a unified response and facilitate the safe and rapid referral of suspected COVID-19 cases for testing and care.
A community health worker in Shan State, Myanmar.
(CPI/Ta'ang Health Committee)
Your donation today to Community Partners International can help to:
- Equip community-based health workers serving vulnerable communities with personal protective equipment including masks, gloves, goggles and suits;
- Equip community clinics serving vulnerable communities with essential medicines, equipment and supplies, including non-contact infrared thermometers;
- Provide essential hygiene supplies, including soap and hand sanitizer, to vulnerable families;
- Identify suspected COVID-19 cases in vulnerable communities and support referral for testing and care;
- And respond to other urgent needs as they arise.
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Latest Reports
Al Jazeera Interviews CPI Board Member Dr. Adam Richards About COVID-19 in the US
December 29 2020
On December 21, Community Partners International (CPI) Board and Health Advisory Committee Member Dr. Adam Richards spoke to Al Jazeera English about the challenges facing health providers in California and across the US that are struggling to cope with rapidly rising cases of COVID-19. Read more
On December 21, Community Partners International (CPI) Board and Health Advisory Committee Member Dr. Adam Richards spoke to Al Jazeera English about the challenges facing health providers in California and across the US that are struggling to cope with rapidly rising cases of COVID-19. Read more
From the Founder: Thank You for Bringing Hope
December 27 2020
These last twelve months have been incredibly tough for us all and there will be difficult times ahead. But amidst the hardship and disruption, the pandemic has helped to clarify what really matters and revealed the profound humanity in individuals and communities throughout the world. Read more
These last twelve months have been incredibly tough for us all and there will be difficult times ahead. But amidst the hardship and disruption, the pandemic has helped to clarify what really matters and revealed the profound humanity in individuals and communities throughout the world. Read more
Meet the Moms Coping With War, Displacement and COVID-19
December 21 2020
In Kachin State, Myanmar, nearly 100,000 people live in displacement camps. Some have been there for 10 years or more, forced to flee their homes due to the conflict that continues to rage in this restive and contested region. COVID-19 is now spreading rapidly in Myanmar and the country has one of the world’s weakest health systems. The cramped and crowded conditions in displacement camps make residents especially vulnerable. Read more
In Kachin State, Myanmar, nearly 100,000 people live in displacement camps. Some have been there for 10 years or more, forced to flee their homes due to the conflict that continues to rage in this restive and contested region. COVID-19 is now spreading rapidly in Myanmar and the country has one of the world’s weakest health systems. The cramped and crowded conditions in displacement camps make residents especially vulnerable. Read more
Millennial Medics: Young Doctors at the Forefront of COVID-19 Care in Bangladesh
December 15, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic has placed increased pressure on health systems, newly-graduated young doctors around the world have stepped up and shouldered responsibility beyond their years and experience in order to provide care to people in need. This is particularly true in countries with fragile and under-resourced health systems like Bangladesh. Read more
As the COVID-19 pandemic has placed increased pressure on health systems, newly-graduated young doctors around the world have stepped up and shouldered responsibility beyond their years and experience in order to provide care to people in need. This is particularly true in countries with fragile and under-resourced health systems like Bangladesh. Read more
Global Handwashing Day: "Our Hands, Our Health!"
October 15, 2020
On Global Handwashing Day (October 15), a mobile school bus supported by Community Partners International (CPI) visited children living in slum communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to educate them about hand hygiene and distribute hygiene kits.
The "Chakar" mobile school bus operated by CPI partner It's Humanity Foundation is a familiar site to children in slum communities in Dhaka. Five days a week, the bus travels to two communities to offer basic education, a healthy meal, health awareness and extracurricular activities to 120+ children between the ages of five and 12. Read more
On Global Handwashing Day (October 15), a mobile school bus supported by Community Partners International (CPI) visited children living in slum communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to educate them about hand hygiene and distribute hygiene kits.
The "Chakar" mobile school bus operated by CPI partner It's Humanity Foundation is a familiar site to children in slum communities in Dhaka. Five days a week, the bus travels to two communities to offer basic education, a healthy meal, health awareness and extracurricular activities to 120+ children between the ages of five and 12. Read more
An Epidemic Within a Pandemic: Safeguarding Myanmar's Newborns From Hepatitis B During COVID-19
July 27, 2020
Seven years ago, Khin Aye (below) went for a routine prenatal check-up while pregnant with her first child. The hospital staff conducted a blood test. “When the test came back, they told me I had hepatitis B.” After becoming pregnant with her second child in late 2019, Khin Aye enrolled in Community Partners International (CPI)'s "Stop Hep B @ Birth" Project which is seeking to develop an effective testing and treatment model to prevent the transmission of HBV from mothers to children during childbirth. The project is focusing on two township suburbs of Yangon - South Dagon and Dagon Seikkan - that have high inward migration and large areas of densely populated slums. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges for the pregnant women and health workers engaged in this project. Read more
Seven years ago, Khin Aye (below) went for a routine prenatal check-up while pregnant with her first child. The hospital staff conducted a blood test. “When the test came back, they told me I had hepatitis B.” After becoming pregnant with her second child in late 2019, Khin Aye enrolled in Community Partners International (CPI)'s "Stop Hep B @ Birth" Project which is seeking to develop an effective testing and treatment model to prevent the transmission of HBV from mothers to children during childbirth. The project is focusing on two township suburbs of Yangon - South Dagon and Dagon Seikkan - that have high inward migration and large areas of densely populated slums. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges for the pregnant women and health workers engaged in this project. Read more
Mountains, Bridges & Barricades: The Challenges of COVID-19 Prevention in Myanmar's Naga Self-Administered Zone
May 26, 2020
In Myanmar’s restive and remote Naga Self-Administered Zone (SAZ), there are only two medical doctors to serve the needs of an estimated 130,000 people. In April 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic threatening communities across Myanmar, Community Partners International (CPI) supported local civil society organization the Eastern Naga Development Organization (ENDO) to raise awareness of COVID-19 risks and prevention measures in 108 remote villages in five townships: Lahe, Leshi and Nanyun in the Naga SAZ, and the neighboring townships of Hkamti and Pansaung. Read more
In Myanmar’s restive and remote Naga Self-Administered Zone (SAZ), there are only two medical doctors to serve the needs of an estimated 130,000 people. In April 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic threatening communities across Myanmar, Community Partners International (CPI) supported local civil society organization the Eastern Naga Development Organization (ENDO) to raise awareness of COVID-19 risks and prevention measures in 108 remote villages in five townships: Lahe, Leshi and Nanyun in the Naga SAZ, and the neighboring townships of Hkamti and Pansaung. Read more
CPI Mask-Making Initiative Offers Income Lifeline to Myanmar Families in Need During COVID-19 Lockdown
May 19, 2020
The front room of Hla Hla Htwe’s home in Pyapon, Ayeyarwady Region, is a hive of activity. Family members are busy cutting fabric, sewing, washing, and ironing on a makeshift production line. They are making cloth face masks to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19. “On a good day, we can produce about 100 masks,” Hla Hla Htwe says. She and her family are part of a Community Partners International (CPI) initiative to help vulnerable families and communities who have lost work due to COVID-19 to generate income through mask making. Read more
The front room of Hla Hla Htwe’s home in Pyapon, Ayeyarwady Region, is a hive of activity. Family members are busy cutting fabric, sewing, washing, and ironing on a makeshift production line. They are making cloth face masks to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19. “On a good day, we can produce about 100 masks,” Hla Hla Htwe says. She and her family are part of a Community Partners International (CPI) initiative to help vulnerable families and communities who have lost work due to COVID-19 to generate income through mask making. Read more
Remote Reach: Strengthening COVID-19 Response in Vulnerable Communities in Myanmar
April 29, 2020
Community Partners International (CPI)’s Myanmar team has been busy supporting conflict-affected, hard-to-reach and under-served communities across Myanmar to establish and maintain COVID-19 prevention and response activities. Here are some of the ways that CPI has been mobilizing to help our ethnic and community-based health organization partners in the past few weeks. Read more
Community Partners International (CPI)’s Myanmar team has been busy supporting conflict-affected, hard-to-reach and under-served communities across Myanmar to establish and maintain COVID-19 prevention and response activities. Here are some of the ways that CPI has been mobilizing to help our ethnic and community-based health organization partners in the past few weeks. Read more
"Stay at Home": CPI Supports Music Video to Help Prevent COVID-19 Spread in Myanmar
April 9, 2020
In a new song and animated video supported by Community Partners International (CPI), and released on April 9, Myanmar music stars Wine Su Khine Thein and Ni Ni Khin Zaw urge people in Myanmar to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Read more
In a new song and animated video supported by Community Partners International (CPI), and released on April 9, Myanmar music stars Wine Su Khine Thein and Ni Ni Khin Zaw urge people in Myanmar to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Read more
CPI's Myanmar Team Produces 3,000 Liters of Hand Sanitizer for Community-Based Health Workers
April 7, 2020
On March 24, Myanmar announced its first two confirmed cases of COVID-19. The day before, with the supply of hand sanitizer diminishing rapidly and the retail price rising fourfold in a short period of time, Community Partners International (CPI)'s Myanmar team started to produce it in their office in Yangon. It was already clear that the network of community-based clinics and health workers serving hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in displacement camps, remote communities and urban slums across Myanmar would struggle to source sufficient quantities of hand sanitizer to meet their needs. By sourcing the raw materials early, and producing it themselves, CPI's Myanmar team planned to help bridge the gap and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Read more
On March 24, Myanmar announced its first two confirmed cases of COVID-19. The day before, with the supply of hand sanitizer diminishing rapidly and the retail price rising fourfold in a short period of time, Community Partners International (CPI)'s Myanmar team started to produce it in their office in Yangon. It was already clear that the network of community-based clinics and health workers serving hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in displacement camps, remote communities and urban slums across Myanmar would struggle to source sufficient quantities of hand sanitizer to meet their needs. By sourcing the raw materials early, and producing it themselves, CPI's Myanmar team planned to help bridge the gap and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Read more
CPI Distributes Essential Medical Supplies to 180 Clinics across Myanmar to Support COVID-19 Preparedness
April 3, 2020
On April 3, the basement of Community Partners International (CPI)'s office in Yangon was converted into a packing station to prepare packages of essential medical supplies for 180 clinics across Myanmar. The packages will help clinics to bridge gaps in essential needs and replenish medicine stocks for the coming two to three months as part of COVID-19 preparedness. Read more
On April 3, the basement of Community Partners International (CPI)'s office in Yangon was converted into a packing station to prepare packages of essential medical supplies for 180 clinics across Myanmar. The packages will help clinics to bridge gaps in essential needs and replenish medicine stocks for the coming two to three months as part of COVID-19 preparedness. Read more
On the Front Lines: COVID-19 in the US, Myanmar & Bangladesh
April 2, 2020
Community Partners International's founder and Board Chair Dr. Tom Lee is an Emergency Room Physician working on the front lines of the COVID-19 response in Los Angeles. In this blog post, he reflects on the challenges he has seen in the last few weeks as the U.S. struggles to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak, and shares his concerns about the potential impact of the pandemic on countries with fragile health systems like Myanmar and Bangladesh. Read more
Community Partners International's founder and Board Chair Dr. Tom Lee is an Emergency Room Physician working on the front lines of the COVID-19 response in Los Angeles. In this blog post, he reflects on the challenges he has seen in the last few weeks as the U.S. struggles to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak, and shares his concerns about the potential impact of the pandemic on countries with fragile health systems like Myanmar and Bangladesh. Read more
"There is a tendency during times like these to look inwards – to our families and to ourselves. But we must also continue to look outwards – to our friends, our communities, our country and the world."
By popular demand, Community Partners International (CPI)'s Myanmar team has made a short video in Burmese language showing how to make hand sanitizer using the WHO-recommended formula. Between March 23 and April 7, CPI's Myanmar team produced over 3,000 liters of hand sanitizer at their office in Yangon. In early April, the team distributed 2.500 liters to 180 ethnic and community-based clinics across Myanmar serving more than 500,000 people in vulnerable communities, including 16 displacement sites. Read more.
COVID-19 World Map
Credit: Johns Hopkins University
